Chapter 29 Class C Guardian, Purchasing Elixirs
After a brief moment of surprise, Pang Long thought to himself:
"This child practices martial arts alone, without any teacher, relying entirely on his own exploration. Perhaps he has made some progress and thinks he has already achieved a minor level of mastery. It is normal for young people to make this mistake."
He solemnly said, "Those who practice martial arts must never be overly ambitious. Do you know what the sign of minor success in Sifangquan is?"
As he spoke, he spread his legs and assumed a boxing stance. He threw a punch, creating a gust of wind. Strangely, his fist was aimed to the right, but the wind from the punch was directed to the left.
Pang Long was eager to offer some pointers. He threw four punches in quick succession: one to the east, the wind from which the punch flew west; one to the south, the wind from which the punch flew east; one to the north, the wind from which the punch flew south; and one to the west, the wind from which the punch flew west as well.
The purpose is to demonstrate that a fist has its own power. The sign of minor mastery of the Four Directions Fist is the separation of fist power and fist path, so as to achieve the effect of being unexpected and unpredictable.
What may seem ordinary actually requires immense effort and exceptional insight to achieve.
"Can you see anything amiss?"
"This! This is true minor success!"
"Even I, Pang Long, spent over a year learning this fist technique before I could..."
As Pang Long was speaking, he suddenly saw Li Xian assume a boxing stance and throw a punch to the east, but the wind from the punch came from the west.
Although his boxing skills are not as good as Pang Long's.
However, the difference lies not in the boxing techniques, but in the vast difference in their internal energy.
Li Xian threw four more punches, each aimed at the east, west, and south, recreating the scene with Pang Long, and said, "I know that the sign of minor mastery of the Four Directions Fist is comprehending the power of the Four Directions Fist."
After finishing his fist technique, Li Xian withdrew his energy and, remembering that Pang Long hadn't finished speaking, asked, "Commander Pang, please continue."
"Cough...cough..."
Pang Long quickly turned his back, touched his chin, and his rough features revealed his embarrassment.
That was said too early...
It was truly embarrassing. Wiping away sweat, I pondered:
"If this kid knew that I, a dignified commander, had spent a year just barely achieving a minor level of mastery, while he had accomplished such a feat in less than a month, wouldn't I... lose all face?"
Pang Long said seriously, "Not bad, not bad. It seems you have indeed achieved some success. The guard competition... you may participate."
"Thank you, Commander!" Li Xian was overjoyed.
“However, although you have achieved some success, do not be complacent,” Pang Long said. “You have some talent in martial arts, which is good. But I need to pass on some experience in the martial world to you in advance.”
Li Xian listened attentively.
"We martial artists seek to shed our old ways and be reborn. The greatest taboo in martial arts is... excessive measurement."
"Excessive measurement?" Li Xian pondered the meaning behind it.
Pang Long nodded, "We'll use a ruler to measure and compare martial arts, realms, and experience. We'll treat them as everything."
"It's like if you've only mastered the basics of Four Directions Fist, and you're facing an opponent who's just started learning it. Knowing in your heart that their fist technique is inferior to yours, after secretly assessing their strengths and weaknesses, you'll naturally develop a sense of contempt."
"In most cases, that is indeed the case. But it should be known that martial arts combat is a matter of constant change. No one can say for sure who will win or lose."
Li Xian understood and realized the meaning behind Pang Long's words.
"There are four days left until the guard competition."
"You should make your own preparations. Let me tell you, this opponent is no pushover."
Even if one has achieved some level of mastery in boxing... one may not be able to defeat the opponent.
Pang Long said with great interest.
"Commander Pang, could you give us a heads-up?" Li Xian asked with a grin.
Pang Long said, "It's not a secret, so there's no harm in telling you. Besides, I've heard that you're not very popular among the guards. If I don't tell you, I'm afraid no one will."
When Li Xian heard that he was "not very popular," he didn't take it seriously at all.
"Martial arts are precious in this world. Generally speaking, a D-class guard can only learn the next martial art after a year of full attendance and mastering it."
"Each time a guard is promoted, they can also receive an additional basic martial arts skill."
"The more martial arts one is proficient in, not to mention anything else, just one's own internal energy alone becomes much stronger."
"There are three spots available for Class C guards this time. But you will face seven very formidable opponents."
Pang Long's description of "extremely powerful" is only relative to Li Xian.
Li Xian asked, "Who is it?"
"I won't reveal your name; you'll find out on the day of the competition," Pang Long said.
"Of these seven people, four had served as guards for six years and were proficient in six different martial arts."
"These two were demoted from the C-level guards, so their strength is beyond question. They are roughly equal to the previous four."
"There is another person who, although he only served for five years and his martial arts foundation is slightly weaker, has mastered a body-strengthening martial art to an excellent degree and should not be underestimated."
Upon hearing this, Li Xian felt greatly troubled. However, how could someone who strives for martial arts advancement fear a powerful enemy!
We are fearless and will not back down!
...
...
I learned from Pang Long that if I wanted to buy pills, I could go to the "Xian Dan Pavilion" to purchase them myself.
Both "Xianwu Pavilion" and "Xiandan Pavilion" contain the character "Xian".
This implies that the martial arts techniques stored in the "Xianwu Pavilion" were created by the lady in her spare time, or that they were of no use to her.
The "leisure" in "Xiandan Pavilion" refers to the various kinds of elixirs that the lady would refine in her spare time to hone her alchemy skills. Since they were useless to her, she simply put them into operation within the manor.
Next to Xiandan Pavilion.
A pavilion is under construction; it is called the "Alchemy Pavilion".
Li Xian heard that the lady had three alchemy pavilions, named "Spring Pavilion," "Autumn Pavilion," and "Winter Pavilion," corresponding to the alchemy locations of different seasons.
Alchemy is a very mysterious matter, requiring the right timing, location, and people. The climate and feng shui differ in spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
And "Xia Lai Ge" also existed.
I heard that the lady's alchemy failed, causing a great fire that reduced everything to ashes. It wasn't until winter that they suddenly remembered and sent people to repair it.
"Manager Luo, we meet again."
Li Xian greeted him.
"It's you!" Luo Fang asked warily, "What are you doing here?"
"Purchase the pills." Li Xian turned and walked into the Idle Pill Pavilion.
"Good lad... he's getting more and more impressive!" Luo Fang felt a great sense of crisis. Only a few days had passed since their last meeting, and this kid was already full of energy and spirit, becoming even more formidable.
"Useless piece of trash!"
Thinking of his nephew still lying in bed, Luo Fang cursed, "By the time you recover, you won't even be fit to carry someone's shoes, let alone seek revenge!"
One wrong step leads to another.
Inside the Xiandan Pavilion, the air was filled with the fragrance of elixirs.
"A third-class guard?"
There are more than ten employees in total at Xiandan Pavilion. Their main responsibilities include cleaning, arranging items, greeting customers, and keeping accounts.
Although they were subordinates, their status was not that of menial servants.
The speaker was Xiaoqing, the "Left Steward" of Xiandan Pavilion. She used to be a laundry maid, but she flattered Qiuyue, the lady's personal maid, and was assigned to Xiandan Pavilion as a half-steward.
She got off the chair and walked towards Li Xianxing, her gaze moving up and down before finally settling on his face.
"He does have a nice face," Xiaoqing thought to herself.
"I've come to purchase medicinal pills," Li Xian said truthfully.
“A low-ranking guard… can only afford a limited number of pills, and there are no discounts. The cheapest pill costs five hundred coins. Do you have enough money?” Xiao Qing said calmly.
Seeing Li Xian nod, Xiao Qing waved her hand, "Come with me."
(End of this chapter)
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